Published U.S. Patent Application No. 2009/0241784 provides a comprehensive and well-written history of the marshmallow, and describes certain prior art relating to marshmallow toasting. According to this reference:
“Sources indicate that as early as 2000 BC, Egyptian people were the first to enjoy a confection now referred to as marshmallow. This ancient marshmallow treat was made from the mallow plant (Athaea officinalis) that grows wild in marshes. The Egyptians squeezed sap from the mallow plant and mixed it with nuts and honey. The French were introduced to marshmallows in the early to mid-1800's. Owners of small candy stores typically hand whipped sap from the mallow root and directed the same into a candy mold. In the late 1800's, candy makers started molding marshmallow via a modified cornstarch medium. At about this same time, candy makers replaced the mallow root with gelatin, which created a stable form of marshmallow.
“Marshmallows were introduced and popularized in the United States in the early 1900's, after the new manufacturing process was developed. In the mid-1900's, Alexander J. Doumak revolutionized the process for manufacturing marshmallows by developing and patenting an extrusion process, whereby combined marshmallow ingredients were extruded, cut into pieces, and packaged. (See, for example U.S. Pat. No. 2,847,311). In the 1950s, Jet-Puffed marshmallows by Kraft (currently doing business as Kraft Foods Inc. with corporate headquarters at Three Lakes Drive, Northfield, Ill., 60093) became extremely popular in the United States. Kraft employed a new technique, in which all ingredients were whipped together during the heating process. The marshmallow mass was then cooled slightly before being extruded. This, and the fact that the ingredients used are relatively cheap, allowed Kraft to make vast quantities of marshmallows inexpensively.
“A popular camping or backyard tradition is the toasting or roasting of marshmallows over a campfire or other source of an open flame. A marshmallow is typically placed on the end of a skewer type implement and held over the flame until it turns golden brown. This creates a caramelized outer skin with a somewhat liquefied layer deep to the outer skin. According to individual preference, the marshmallows are heated to various degrees—from a gentle toasting to burning the outer layer. Either the toasted marshmallow can be eaten whole or the outside layer may be consumed separately and the marshmallow toasted again.”
It has been discovered that, under ideal roasting conditions, the temperature of the outside of the marshmallow should be between 180° F.-185° F./82° C.-85° C. An ideal internal temperature should be between 145° F.-160° F./63° C.-71° C. Many believe that dual-pronged roasting skewers are the best tool to keep the marshmallows from sliding around and possibly falling during roasting.
As might be expected, numerous marshmallow roasting devices have been developed to reach the elusive goal of a perfectly toasted specimen. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,183,938 (FIGS. 1, 2), which issued to Lewis, discloses a Marshmallow Toaster. The '938 Patent describes a culinary utensil essentially comprising a plate member; a series of pairs of arms projecting radially outward from the plate member, which arms are bent at right angles to form pairs at times; a handle; and means for detachably attaching the handle to the plate member.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,484,858 (FIG. 3) teaches a device for roasting marshmallows or the like comprising a pair of rods integral at one end to form a handle, clamps for holding the rods together, an oven, the lower ends of the rods being secured to the oven, a sleeve slidably positioned on the rods, a pair of prongs for holding marshmallows secured to the sleeve, and a handle on one of the prongs for moving the prongs and marshmallows into the oven preparatory to placing the oven in a fire for the roasting of the marshmallows.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,487,651 (FIG. 4) teaches a toaster comprising a handle and a basket-like enclosure on the handle of a shape and size for holding a marshmallow as it is toasted and wherein the marshmallow may be tumbled about by manipulation of the handle so that the marshmallow will be evenly toasted on all sides and will not stick to the enclosure.”
U.S. Pat. No. 2,629,313 (FIGS. 5, 6) provides “a highly simplified, light and sturdy rotary roasting fork which will facilitate roasting wieners, marshmallows and the like evenly on all sides. The fork includes a plurality of separate rotatable prongs or tines, together with novel and simplified means for turning the tines simultaneously.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,876,694 (FIG. 7) relates to roasting sticks, and especially a stick for use in roasting wieners, marshmallows, corn, and the like, providing a lightweight rod of fairly considerable length presenting upon one of its ends a sharpened fork for piercing the concerned food article and upon the other end providing a means permitting the rod to be turned about its axis as roasting proceeds. Mounted upon the rod is a hand-grip characterized in that the same is a slidable along the length of the rod from a retracted position where at the rod can be comfortably supported during a roasting operation into an advanced position proximal to the fork for stabilizing the forked end while applying a food article to or removing the same from the prongs. The prongs may be wholly pocketed within the hand-grip when the hand-grip is advanced to the forward extreme of its sliding travel so that such hand-grip will then perform the function of a sheath and protect the prongs during periods when the roasting stick is not in use.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,125,015 (FIG. 8) describes a rotisserie wheel comprising a support member adapted for rotation in a vertical plane, a plurality of spits rotatably secured to the support member so that their major lengths extend therefrom in the same direction on a horizontal plane and in a concentric spaced relationship relative to the support member, a gear wheel carried by each respective spit, each of the gear wheels in mesh with at least one of the other the wheels, a bearing member in axial alignment with and secured to the support member for rotation therewith, a spur gear carried by the bearing member, the bearing member susceptible of rotation independently of the spur gear, the support member adapted for mounting on a motor driven shaft for rotation therewith, a second gear wheel rotatably mounted to the support member in mesh with the spur gear and at least one of the first mentioned gear wheels, a pendulum secured at one end to the spur gear so as to depend therefrom, a weight means on the free end of the pendulum, and the pendulum being maintained in a depending relationship to the spur gear by gravity during rotation of the support member to thereby hold the spur gear against rotation.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,744,403 (FIG. 9) discloses an electrical appliance for toasting marshmallows comprising a housing having a base in which an electric motor driven by house current drives a gear train so to rotate a horizontal turntable that travels under a canopy that serves as an oven where electric heating elements are located, and the turntable supporting upright picks on each of which a marshmallow is impaled, each pick slowly rotating as the turntable turns, so that all sides of the marshmallow are faced to the oven heating elements during the toasting operation.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,745,910, “Roasting spit” (FIGS. 10, 11) “includes an elongated shaft of substantially square section, one end of the shaft is provided with a handle and the opposite end transversely secures a disk provided with transverse perforations adjacent the rim thereof. A round sleeve is slidable upon the square shaft, the sleeve provided with a handle for moving the sleeve, the opposite end of the sleeve being square sectioned and provided with a central disk of smaller diameter than the disk secured to the square shaft. A further sleeve is secured to the shaft handle and telescopically receives the round sleeve. Tines are secured to the small diameter disk and project through the perforations of the larger disk whereby the round sleeve handle is moved forwardly the tines flare beyond the larger disk, the tines being drawn inwardly of the larger disk when the sleeve handle is moved toward the shaft handle. Thus various food items such as wieners, may be impaled upon the tines whereby the food article may be roasted over a fire, the food articles being released from the tines when the sleeve is moved by its handle to retract the smaller diameter disk and to retract the tines.”
U.S. Pat. No. 3,927,609, “Wienie wiggler roasting implement” (FIGS. 12, 13) discloses “a culinary implement for use in the roasting of wienies and consisting of a telescopic rod adapted to expand from an approximate 6 inch storage length to an approximate 30 inch usable length with a spring loaded retractable fork at one end thereof for use in the roasting of wienies, marshmallows, and the like, the fork being normally stored within the rod and telescopically movable there out of to expand to a general V shape for the roasting of two wienies or the like simultaneously or for the more secure gripping of a single wienie during the roasting process.”
U.S. Pat. No. 4,517,885 (FIG. 14) describes “a wiener roaster having a shank including a first section threadably attached to a second section. A plurality of tines is integrally bound to the first section. A bearing collar rotatably slidably attaches to the first section. A first handle is bound to an end of the second section for gripping the wiener roaster. A second handle is slidably rotatably positioned about the second section in an area between the threadably securing point of the first section to the second section and the first handle. A stand is provided to be implanted in a ground. The stand has a structure defining a bifurcated bearing face wherein the bearing collar removably rotatably lodges as the tines impale wieners and is rotatably situated over a fire, or the like. A method for roasting wieners includes impaling at least one wiener on a tine pivotably secured at the end of a first shaft of a fold-up wiener roaster having a second shaft pivotably secured to the first shaft. The method additionally includes positioning the impaled wiener over a fire, or the like, and rotating the positioned impaled wiener over the fire to evenly roast the wiener.”
The hand-held rotary barbecue rotisserie described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,117,558 (FIG. 15) “includes an elongated shaft having multiple prongs on which wieners, marshmallows, or other food is impaled for cooking. The shaft end opposite the cooking prongs is formed in to an eccentric crank handle, this crank is used for turning the cooking food. A heat insulting sleeve is placed on the shaft. This sleeve would typically be held in one hand while the other hand would rotate the crank handle. The shaft can be one single piece or can be separated into smaller components for easier storage.”
U.S. Pat. No. 5,906,052 (FIG. 16) describes a “utensil which indicates when the inside of a marshmallow is melted includes a user-grippable handle (7) having a plurality of elongated wires (8) extending from one end for impaling a marshmallow for toasting. Wires (8) are flexible to be drawn together at open end for impaling marshmallow and are biased to return to their original position precisely when marshmallow is melted inside. The utensil would typically be held in users hand to toast marshmallow over open heat source.”
U.S. Pat. No. 6,009,796 (FIG. 17) teaches a marshmallow toasting stick, particularly suited for camp fire use, including a substantially round wooden stick of a certain stick length and a certain cross-sectional stick diameter; a substantially round handle at a first end of the stick of a smaller handle length and a larger handle cross-sectional diameter. A taper is formed at a second end of the stick to a blunt point of still smaller cross-sectional diameter, with the handle color-coded for identifying the user of the stick, and with the stick and handle dimensions being selected so that one or more marshmallows could be suspended over the flames of a camp fire from a distance which protects an adult or child user from the heat of the fire.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,196,121 (FIG. 18) discloses a hand-held cooking utensil for safely holding and rotating food items when cooking upon an open fire. “The utensil includes a handle member including a housing having an open first end and a second end having an opening therethrough and further includes a protective heat shield member securely attached to the second end of the housing and also including an end cap member being removably attached to the housing for closing the open first end thereof; and also includes an elongate support member having a first end and a second end and being rotatably attached to the handle member; and further includes a coupler through which the first end of the elongate support member is journaled; and also includes prongs being spaced apart and each having a first end which is securely attached to the second end of the elongate support member with the prongs extending outwardly parallel to the elongate support member; and further includes a rotation assembly for rotating the elongate support member; and also includes a storage assembly for storing the elongate support member.”
U.S. Pat. No. 6,877,232 (FIG. 19) describes a marshmallow-toasting utensil comprising a handle and a wire assembly with at least one wire segment extending from the handle. In some embodiments, the wire assembly includes deflectable wire segments with end regions that are biased to a spread-apart configuration. During use, the end regions are urged together and a marshmallow is impaled upon the ends. As the inside of the marshmallow melts, the end regions return toward the unbiased configuration. In some embodiments, the utensil is a collapsible utensil where the wire assembly is selectively positionable between at least extended and collapsed configurations. In some embodiments, the wire segments are adapted to pivot between the stowed and extended configurations. In some embodiments, the wire segments are selectively removable from the handle. In some embodiments, the wire segments are selectively extendable from and/or stored within the handle.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,219,936 (FIG. 20) resides in a hand-held rotatable campfire rotisserie. The device features the ability to rotate the tined end from the handle end internally. The length of the overall device allows the user to roast items placed over a heat source at a comfortable distance from the heat source. The rotisserie action allows the food items to cook evenly.
The Girl Scout Handbook of 1927 is the first publication to provide a recipe for roasted marshmallow combined with chocolate bars and graham crackers, now known as a s'more. The graham crackers add flavor, but mainly provide a crispy texture to the treat. They hold in the sticky ingredients, creating a sandwich that helps to keep the hands clean. The perfect chocolate in a s'more will have flavor without overpowering the marshmallow and the graham cracker, and should melt readily without becoming too liquid.
S'mores have been a campfire favorite in the U.S. and Canada since the 1920s. Since that time, numerous inventions related to s'more making have been described and invented. U.S. Pat. No. 8,156,859 (FIG. 21) is directed to a machine for toasting a marshmallow loaded on a pick and concurrently melting at least a portion of a chocolate bar provided on a separate support. A housing has an internal heat source, a rotatable pick holder shaped to removably and securely receive a pick and support the marshmallow in proximity to the heat source, and a coupling to rotate a so engaged pick. The coupling can be a manual control gearingly coupled to the pick holder. A moveable cover can support the heat source and place it in proximity with a marshmallow-bearing portion of the pick when in a closed position yet move aside for loading and unloading ingredients. A method for making s'mores toasts marshmallows while actively melting chocolate and provides for selective rotation of the marshmallow within the housing during the toasting step by moving a control that is safely disposed exterior of the housing.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,387,519, entitled “marshmallow roasting stick,” (FIG. 22) relates to skewers or sticks used to roast marshmallows and, in particular to a skewer or stick adapted to retain edible wafers on the skewer or stick for selective combination with a roasted marshmallow. The apparatus includes a shaft having a first end adapted to receive an edible wafer via an internal opening in the wafer, a second end, and a retaining portion near the second end that is adapted to removably retain the edible wafer to the shaft. The first end has a first shape adapted to enable the wafer to travel along the first end of the shaft towards the retaining portion with the retaining portion having a second shape different from the first shape and adapted to removably engage the wafer when moved from the first end to the retaining portion such that the shaft may be tilted down relative to the second end without the wafer traveling due to gravity beyond the retaining portion.
The roasting apparatus described in U.S. Pat. No. 8,387,519 includes a shaft having a first end adapted to receive an edible wafer via an internal opening in the wafer, a second end, and a retaining portion near the second end that is adapted to removably retain the edible wafer to the shaft. The first end has a first shape adapted to enable the wafer to travel along the first end of the shaft towards the retaining portion with the retaining portion having a second shape different from the first shape and adapted to removably engage the wafer when moved from the first end to the retaining portion such that the shaft may be tilted down relative to the second end without the wafer traveling due to gravity beyond the retaining portion.
Published U.S. Pat. App. No. 2010/0282096 shown in FIG. 24 is directed to a campfire-cooking utensil that can be used to cook food over campfires, that rotates the food about an axis of rotation, and can cook four food items at one time. The utensil that has a curved handle or shaft to provide for easier holding or placement of the utensil, similar to the curved handle snow shovels.
There are also many commercially available marshmallow roasting sticks, including battery-operated units that rotate the marshmallow with the push of a button (FIG. 25). The “Spinmallow” has a telescoping arm, LED flashlight, and rotates at an ideal speed of 186 RPM (FIG. 26).
Despite all of these advances, however, the need remains for a device capable of achieving a perfectly toasted marshmallow having a crisp, evenly browned—but not burned—exterior with a warm, soft, gooey center.